With some encouragement from Marina mayoral candidate Bruce Delgado, not-quite 2-year-old Hayden Gardner animatedly bobbed his head and chanted “O-ba-ma” while strapped into his stroller. Sipping frosty mugs of beer, the crowd (minus the toddlers) at Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Marina watched president-elect Barack Obama’s victory speech on Nov. 4, and held out hope that change would come to City Hall as well as the White House.

David Hernandez said he thought Delgado’s chance of riding the progressive wave– and beating Mayor Gary Wilmot– was good, considering that Jane Parker defeated former Marina mayor Ila Mettee-McCutchon for supervisor in June. “I feel like we have the momentum with Jane Parker feeding us, with Barack Obama and now Bruce Delgado,” he said.

But the first results to scroll across the flat screen TV on Election Night showed Wilmot leading 52 percent to Delgado’s 48 percent. The crowd groaned. “That’s a bad indicator,” Delgado said. Then again, he said 2004 early returns showed Mettee-McCutchon winning the mayor’s seat by 16 percentage points (ultimately, Delgado narrowly lost the race). “So 52-48 is definitely doable,” he said.

Delgado was right. By early Nov. 5, the numbers had flipped in the Green Party member’s favor, giving Delgado 52 percent of the vote with seven of eight precincts counted.

Leading among the six candidates for City Council were Planning Commissioner Frank O’Connell and appointed incumbent Jim Ford. O’Connell, Delgado, council challenger David Burnett and Marina Water Coast Water District board candidate Quinn Gardner ran as a progressive slate backed by labor unions, Sierra Club and Marina Democratic Club. O’Connell and Ford went on to win the two council seats; Ken Nishi and Dan Burns beat out Gardner for the water board.

The so-called Marina Campaign for Change criticized incumbents for approving $106 million in redevelopment funds for The Dunes on Monterey Bay, and for not curtailing deficit spending. The heated council race tested appointed Mayor Wilmot and sitting council members Ford and Nancy Amadeo, who all stood behind the controversial Dunes deal and vowed to keep Marina on the same economic development track. Stranded between change and status quo candidates were two outliers: Mike Derr and Peter Le.

Of the council candidates, O’Connell received the most votes– more than 20 percent– and said his top priority is getting the public more involved in city government. “I’m looking forward to getting real town hall meetings,” he said, holding an empty mug of beer.

And ultimately, with Marina Campaign for Change candidates Delgado and O’Connell winning seats, it worked.